Daniel Oboyle News Today

Smith & Nephew, speciality chemicals firm Croda International and asset manager Abrdn are among the major companies with results out today. Other developments include a potential boost for the London stock market amid reports that China e-commerce firm Shein is mulling a potential listing.

Barclays is to return at least £10 billion to shareholders over the next three years as part of plans unveiled by boss C.S. Venkatakrishnan today. Hotels group IHG has also reported results today, while the focus for US investors will be on the earnings of retailers The Home Depot and Walmart.

Bets that US interest rates will stay higher for longer today continued to weigh on stock market sentiment. As well as the focus on the rates outlook, today’s London session included updates from Boohoo and the food-on-the-go chain Greggs.

ChancellorJeremy Hunt is expected to use his speech to Tory party conference to confirm an increase in the national living wage to at least £11 an hour from next April. The Conservatives said the move will benefit two million of the lowest paid, with Mr Hunt also expected to announce ministers will look again at the benefit sanctions regime in a bid to get the unemployed back into work. It comes as Rishi Sunak resisted calls from fellow Tories to commit to tax cuts in a pre-election givea...

Apple’s former head of design is in talks to raise $1 billion dollars to take on its iPhone with an AI-powered rival. London-born Jony Ive, whose work was instrumental to the design of a suite of Apple products including the iPod, iPhone and MacBook, is seeking to raise the funds from Japanese investing giant SoftBank in a partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, according the FT. Ive and OpenAI boss Sam Altman are exploring what an AI-powered consumer device would look like, including ho...

Retail sales figures have kept the UK economy in focus after yesterday’s knife-edge rates decision by the Bank of England. The Federal Reserve also paused this week but its hawkish tone has left Wall Street fearing a longer run of high interest rates. Elsewhere, Microsoft’s Activision deal has moved a step closer to clearance by the the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.

The FTSE 100 index is within sight of its lowest close of the year after a grim week for global stock markets. London’s top flight fell again today, leaving it down by 3% since Monday as worries mount globally over higher-for-longer interest rates. Rising borrowing costs have added to pressure on the retail sector, resulting in today’s 1.2% fall in sales during washout July.

Concerns over China’s debt-laden property sector today meant a downbeat start to the week for global stock markets. Shares in Country Garden slumped in Hong Kong to a new record low after it suspended trading of 11 onshore bonds, adding to the ongoing fears about China’s economy. West End property investment business Shaftesbury Capital today took a new step to bear down on its heavy debt burden after securing a £200 million loan.

European markets have risen despite figures showing China in deflation territory. The 0.3% year-on-year decline in consumer prices for July comes a day after poor trade figures, when exports and imports both declined by double-digit percentages. Today’s corporate results include a profitable half year for Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment after it benefited from strong growth at its US-based FanDuel sports betting business.

The struggling China economy and results from Glencore, Abrdn and hotels group IHG are in focus for London traders today. China’s imports fell 12.4% year-on-year in July, much worse than the 5% forecast amid the weakening of domestic demand. The trade figures put pressure on Glencore shares in the FTSE 100 index after the commodities giant reported lower half-year earnings.